Baby Steps
by PandaBearMunchkin
Summary: It's all just a screwed up balancing scale. He lost his son; she lost her words. He has one chance to ruin everything for her; she has one chance to turn everyone against him. He can easily get what he wants; she can easily protect what she has. And it only takes one child to tip the scale. Kyoya X OC


**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host club. But I do own the OC's, Tomiko and Tomoya Matsuru.**

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_A/N: This fanfiction has been collecting dust in my document folder for a while now and I thought it was uploading-worthy when I reread it. It's a little different from my usual range of genre but this just might get my creative juices flowing properly again. By the way, the host members and the OC, Tomiko, are all around their 20's._

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**Chapter 1: **Luke - I mean Tomoya, I am your father?

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Mentally exhausting stress, countless of all-nighters, and putting on fake smiles pretty much took up Kyoya Ootori's existence so far. He figured that once he surpassed his older brothers and got his rightful title to the company, the suffering would end. No, it continued. It just applied to a different situation. There was a moment in his workaholic life where he could truly say he was happy, but he did say it was a moment. Stack after stack of paperwork Kyoya analyzed and signed - occasionally jotting down notes off to the side. A beep followed by the sound of his assistant speaking through the phone on top of his office desk broke the silent atmosphere.

"Ootori-san."

"What is it?" he replied back, not even trying to hide the irritation in his voice.

"You have a call on the line: it's Suoh-san."

"Tell him to call back later," Kyoya groaned inwardly while pinching the bridge of his nose. His best friend was probably calling him to gush over his wife for the billionth time that week and frankly he was in no mood to listen to him rambling.

"He said it's urgent," she pressed.

Kyoya sighed before holding down the button, "Very well then connect him through."

The second he lifted his finger off the button, the voice of a certain blonde idiot bounced off the walls of his office.

"KYOYAAA! COME TO MY HOUSE RIGHT AWAY! HURRY! BEFORE SHE-"

Tamaki screeched before the line cut off.

The glasses-wearing man raised a suspicious eyebrow then shook his head. He gathered his belongings and left his office without saying another word.

* * *

Kyoya unwillingly got out of his car once it came to a halt in front of the grand entrance. Once the limo drove away he knew there was no turning back. Haruhi answered the door immediately after he knocked on it. She had the same aggravated expression on her face as him. Kyoya stepped inside, unsure of what he was about to face. He saw the blonde idiot running towards him and noticed a rather large swollen bump on top of his head.

"KYOYA!" Tamaki wailed, latching on to his best friend. "SHE'S TRYING TO KILL ME~!"

"What did you expect, Tamaki? You did what she deliberately she told you _not_ to do," the short-haired brunette snapped.

"How was I supposed to know?! Only my amazing wife can understand her!"

Kyoya looked in the direction Tamaki ran from, half-expecting the former host king's "killer" to emerge from the doorway and finish what she started. Haruhi headed towards that direction and Kyoya followed with a hint of interest in the matter. The longer they treaded down the hallway, the more intrigued he was. Once they entered the room Kyoya spotted a petite figure hunched on the cough. The person's attired looked like Haruhi's when the hosts first met her - a loose grey sweater with a wide collar that was pulled to the side to show a white tank top strap, dark slim-fit jeans, and a baseball hat on top of a full head of long sleek jet-black hair. Kyoya stepped closer, safely assuming this was the subject of the situation, and saw that her elbows were propped up on her thighs and her face buried in her small hands. Sensing his presence, she peeked in between her fingers and her light grey eyes met with his onyx ones. Realizing exactly who this female was, his curious expression was quickly replaced with a scowl. The female lifted her head and straightened her posture while glaring right back at him.

"Tomiko Matsuru," he grumbled his greeting.

She just continued to stare at him with cool eyes.

"What is it? Did you damage enough brain cells to lose the ability to talk or did my presence really leave you that speechless?" Kyoya said smugly.

"Kyoya-" Haruhi tried to intervene.

Kyoya just raised his hand to silence her. He observed the girl's movements carefully; her jaw clenched and slightly shifted side to side. Her shoulders were tense and her head lowered - a defensive position. Her nails raked her thighs and the scratching noise against the rough material of her jeans added more tension to the room. But her steel-colored eyes said differently. Emotions swirled within them and Kyoya couldn't make out any of them except for one: fear. He was no stranger to that look for he had seen it multiple times in the eyes for his competitors. Feeling somewhat pleased, he also couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt deep within him. The staring contest continued until it was disrupted by the uproarious howls of Tamaki's overly enthusiastic Golden Retriever. The blonde scrambled to block the doorway and Kyoya didn't fail to notice this. Or anyone in fact. The commotion now had everyone's attention.

"No, no! Tomo-chan-" Tamaki said in a panicked yet hushed voice.

"Mommy! I need to be with Mommy!" a childish voice squealed.

Mommy? Do they already have a son? That's not likely - not without Tamaki ranting about it to me, Kyoya deduced. A little boy probably about 4-years-old squeezed through Tamaki's legs and rushed over the Tomiko.

"Tomoya!" Tamaki called out again.

Tomiko just waved her hand at the blonde and shook her head. _Tomiko is the mother?_ Kyoya suggested. Of course, his assumption was correct as he watched her reached down to picked up her son and place him on her lap. The boy wrapped his small arms around her neck and frowned at Kyoya. The fact that Tomiko had a child didn't shocked him; he thought it was only a matter of time before she did have one and the father of the child was irrelevant to him. That was until he got a better look at the boy.

The boy, otherwise know was Tomoya, had the same grey eyes as Tomiko but they were shaped like his. Besides that and him not wearing glasses, he was the spitting image of Kyoya. Kyoya wasn't stupid. Unless he had an unknown identical twin, this was his child. But any memories of how this child was conceived were not recalled. He looked at his ex-girlfriend and then at his supposedly son. He thought about it for a minute. The last time he saw her was almost 5 years ago and seeing how the boy looked around the age of 4 - the pieces fitted together. But that only answered _one_ of his many questions and with this gained information, Kyoya tried to keep his voice leveled.

"Matsuru-san, if you think that I'm _not_ going to assume that's my child then you really are dumber than I take you credit for."

"DON'T TALK ABOUT MY MOMMY LIKE THAT!" Tomoya hollered, practically making the mansion rumbled.

Tomiko cupped her hand on her son's cheek and gently made him face her.

**_'Tomoya, you must not raise your voice to your father,'_** she signed slowly.

Kyoya was yet again shocked - and that is not an easy goal to achieve - at her actions. That explained why she hadn't said a word to him. By then he was expecting a plethora of rather colorful words to spew out of her mouth. Kyoya didn't know sign language but the scorn his newly discovered son was giving him didn't seem like a good thing.

"This jerk is my daddy?" he said rudely.

Tomiko placed Tomoya next to her, off her lap, and furrowed her brow with her hands on her hips.

**_'Tomoya, he is your father and you will speak to him in no such tone.'_**

Tomoya dropped his head, knowing what to come. He extended his hand out and his mother slapped; it was only hard enough for him to feel it but not hard enough to hurt him. He held back his tears of guilt for making his mother upset and sniffed loudly. Afterwards, he faced Kyoya again.

"I apologize, mister. Please pardon me and I do hope you find in your heart forgive me for my unacceptable actions, " he bowed.

Kyoya no longer had any doubts about him being his son. Tomoya's mother brushed his bangs away from his forehead and kissed it. Tomiko picked her child back up as she stood up and carried him at her hip. She deliberately bumped shoulders with her ex and walked towards the much happier couple.

**_'It is alright, Haruhi. I ask that you not be too hard on him for he is only human,'_** she signed towards the only other person who understood her.

Haruhi wrapped her arms around the both of them and told her she was welcomed there anytime. Tomiko responded with a smile and then gave Tamaki a hug. She even patted Anoitnette on her head on her way out. They could faintly hear the sound of a car starting and driving off. Once it was quiet again all, eyes were on Kyoya. Haruhi was the first one to speak. Haruhi couldn't bite her tounge and kept her mouth shut, it was just too hard to not confront her friend about what just happened.

"She _asked_ me not to be too hard on you but the way you treated her was so uncalled for. _Did you damage enough brain cells to lose the ability to talk;_ _you really are dumber than I take you credit for _- You can't be fricking serious Kyoya!" she exclaimed.

"_You_ can't be serious that you actually believe this whole not-speaking business. This is Tomiko Matsuru: the person who mastered the skill of talking someone's ear off back in high school," Kyoya shot back.

"Was her signing not enough evidence or are you just that insensitive?" she snapped at him. Tamaki had to intercept them, knowing that his wife wasn't afraid to start swinging at him.

"Kyoya, what you did wasn't exactly necessary and you know that. At least she made an effort to show that she put the past behind her. Why can't you do the same?" Tamaki pointed out.

Kyoya never liked it when Tamaki actually acted his age.

* * *

The car ride back to their new apartment was a bit too quiet for her taste. Coming from the mute person, it was kind of ironic but she liked hearing the sound of Tomoya's voice. He usually talked for the both of them. Tomiko would look over her shoulder to see if he was sleeping in his car seat since it was around dinner time, but he was still wide awake. When they were nearing the apartment complex, she heard a soft grumble coming from her son's direction. She let out an airy laugh, figuring out that his silence was due to his hunger. Once they got inside their home, she signed him to wash up while she cooked dinner for them.

Dinner was ready by the time she heard Tomoya's feet patting against the tiled floor. He dove in the minute the plate was set down in front of him and Tomiko tap the bottom of his chin, reminding him to chew with his mouth closed. She took her seat in front of him and proceeded to eat her meal. As she ate, she couldn't help but admire her son. He was such a brilliant boy especially for his age. She hardly had any problems with him. Potty training was a breeze; he eventually started talking on his own and said more and more words each day; and he just stood up and started walking without her having to help him. The years went by and he quickly caught on to the expected mannerisms as well as sign language. _His appearance, his attitude, his intelligence... He's so much like his father._

"Mommy?" he said, pulling her back down to earth. Tomiko nodded her head to let him know she was listening.

"Was that guy really my father?" he questioned.

This question caught her off guard but it was also kind of expected from him to wonder about his father now. **_'Yes, Tomoya, he is your father.' _**

"But... he's so mean looking and the way he spoke to you wasn't very nice either."

**_'You should not judge a person by the way they look, Tomoya. And yes, the way he spoke to me was not very nice but you weren't exactly nice to him either.'_**

"Yes, Mommy," he sighed.

_**'You know, he wasn't always that mean to your mommy. Somewhere deep inside, there is a kind-hearted man who only wants what is for those around him,' **_she added.

"Really?"

Tomiko giggled at her son's astonishment, **_'Really.'_**

"Well, what happened?" he implied. She started down at her half-eaten plate for a minute before looking back up at him.

_**'Something happened a long time ago that made your daddy really upset. He was a bit mean to me earlier but it is my fault that he is the way he is now. And even though he was mean to me, you must respect him.'**_

"Why?"

**_'He's your father and that is the way it is. Please try to understand, son.'_**

"But Mommy, I still don't understand."

_**'Understand what, why you need to respect him?' **_she signed back, feeling a bit confused herself.

"No, why are you defending him even though it doesn't seem like he would do with same for you? Mommy, do you still love him?" he questioned innocently.

Tomiko wasn't sure how to answer her son when she didn't exactly have the answer for herself, **_'I will tell you when you are older.'_** _Or when I actually know, _she thought. She felt a little guilty for telling Tomoya such an awful cliché but it will just have to do for now.

"That's not very fair," he puffed up his cheeks before returning to his macaroni and cheese.

* * *

Yoshio called him back to the mansion to discuss from important _matters _with him. Kyoya had a hunch that he found about his _son_ and that he would have some explaining to do. Being called to his office made a part of him feel like a school boy again, but he would never admit that to himself let alone anybody else. He entered the office, momentarily forgetting to knock but his father didn't fail to remind him for it.

"I don't recall granting you permission to enter my office," he said in a menacing tone.

"Forgive me," Kyoya replied automatically.

"I also don't recall becoming a grandfather," he got straight to the point.

The older male flipped through a stack of files on his desk casually - as if he didn't already read every single sheet of paper, word by word. Kyoya had no choice by to stand there patiently and grid his teeth.

"Tomiko Matsuru; the girl you were once engaged to, am I correct?"

"Yes, Father."

"However, due to certain... _events_, you called the engagement off. Not long after she moved out of the country to America and somewhere within that time frame - whether it be before or after the engagement was called off - Matsuru-san was carrying a child. Your child. Fortunately, her Japanese bloodline has not been broke yet and she was from a family with status so this child can be useful to our name," he closed the folder.

"What are you trying to say?" Kyoya asked, a bit taken back at what he heard.

"Kyoya, you have a worthy heir within your reach and as long as the blood of an Ootori courses through his veins, he is likely to show great potential for this society," Yoshio said bluntly. "And besides, that child is more useful to us than that _girl_."

"How do you suppose I go about getting this child, Father?" Kyoya questioned cautiously. He watched his father spin his chair, facing away from him.

"It's like I always say - keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. However it would be a lot easier to just take the child by force."

Kyoya flinched at that suggestion as he imagined himself pulling Tomoya out of his mother's arms. If necessary, he will to do what needed to be done.


End file.
